GROUP ROUNDED UP BY THE FRENCH... WITH SOME ALREADY IN LIFEJACKETS
for political ends. But Government sources insisted that after 27 migrants drowned in the ‘dreadful disaster’, the French president had to relent.
In his letter, the Prime Minister also offered to pay for private security personnel to conduct the joint patrols if Border Force staff are deemed unacceptable. And he proposed joint maritime patrols, which could see Border Force cutters operating in French waters.
He also proposed greater intelligence sharing and the use of more advanced technology, including ground sensors and radar to detect migrants before they leave France.
In addition, he urged Paris to negotiate a ‘returns agreement’ that would allow the UK to send migrants back to France, breaking the traffickers’ business model.
Home Office officials travelled to France last night ahead of talks with the French interior ministry today. Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday said Mr Macron had the power to ‘end this now’.
Her comments came as more horrific details emerged about Wednesday’s tragedy. Wednesday’s death toll was originally reported as 31 by French authorities, but later revised to 27.
One migrant feared to be among the dead had phoned a friend to say: ‘It’s not good, the engine isn’t powerful enough – I don’t know if we’re going to make it.’ Mohammad Aziz, 31, has not been heard of since his frantic call. In a string of developments:
Some of the migrants feared drowned are believed to have travelled to France via the controversial new Belarus route;
The dead were confirmed as two boys and a girl; seven women, including an expectant mother; and 17 men;
A body was found on a beach at Sangatte, west of calais, yesterday, prompting fears it could be a 28th victim;
A transcript of the mayday call – made by a French coastguard during the rescue operation – revealed it had implored ‘all ships in the area’ to help;
More than 250 migrants were thought to have reached Britain on the day of the tragedy, and at least 50 yesterday, bringing the total since the start of the year to 26,000;
Five men arrested in France after the deaths were said by prosecutors to have ‘no provable link’ to the tragedy, despite the country’s interior minister earlier claiming they were ‘directly’ involved;
Asylum claims in Britain have hit their highest level for nearly 20 years;
Tory MPs said migrants should be sent straight back to France;
Mr Johnson and Mr Macron spoke on Wednesday night, with the Elysée later briefing that the French president had asked the PM ‘to refrain from exploiting a tragic situation for political ends’.
Government sources said last night there were ‘positive noises’ from Paris about the possibility of a new deal to combat the crisis.
‘After this dreadful disaster, the political movement now seems to be in a positive direction,’ one said. ‘From the noises we are hearing, there seems to be movement on the French side.’ In the first sign of a climbdown, Mr Macron yesterday said he would be seeking ‘extra help’ from the UK.
Miss Patel urged Mr Macron to take up the PM’s offers. ‘We need to deploy every single tool that we have to save lives and to prevent the loss of life, and that is effectively what this is now about,’ she said.